Monday, November 28, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers

Lothaire – Kresley Cole: IAD is my all time favorite series and this one comes out in Feb. which is absolutely NOT soon enough but I’ll have to live with this impatience.

Midnight Enchantment – Anya Bast: This is from the Dark Magick series, this installment involves a dangerous Mage Niall and an Water Fae Elizabeth who will do anything to keep an artifact away from Niall. I read the excerpt and she was already kicking Niall’s ass in the very beginning, now I can’t wait for the sparks to fly!

Spirit Bound – Christine Feehan: Sexy Russian Spy, need I say more?

Serpent’s Kiss – Thea Harrison: This is from the Elder Races series which is really really good! However, I started this book got a couple of chapters in and got caught up in the Hunger Games. Oops! So I need to get back to it ASAP.

Bound by Darkness – Alexandra Ivy: The latest installment of the Guardians of Eternity. This one features a female assassin, I’m looking forward to this one. A. Ivy always writes about a strong powerful women and men who can handle them. This one actually just arrived in my Kindle, yay pre-orders!

Mortal Instruments – Cassandra Clare: Almost everyone has already read this series but me. I have promised myself this is the next series I will read. I am determined. I’ve had it sitting around for um about a year now and haven’t started it.

Forever and a Day – I forgot who wrote this one Yikes!: And I’m too lazy to look it up. Sorry unknown author. I have to get this one reviewed for my blog by Jan so here it is on the Winter TBR pile.

First Grave on the Right – Darynda Jones: Because this one has come to me highly recommended from one of my book soul mates (Don’t Judge Me, you know you have at least one book soul mate too lol) So I’ll give it a whirl to see if it takes.

Goddess with a Blade – Lauren Dane: Because I picked it up recently from Amazon so I should read it, right?

How to Date a Werewolf – Rose Pressey: Here is another book that got pushed to the side for Hunger Games, I’m about halfway finished so I need to get on that.

These books contain: fights to the death, survival, revolution, betrayal and characters you will fall in love with.

The books are from a young woman Catness Everdeens point of view. She is a 16 year girl who is just trying to survive as well as support her family as a resident of district 12. Life in District 12 is harsh to say the least, people die every day due to starvation, the men are killed in the mines due to cave ins, there are few options to earn a living. Catniss is the head of her household, after her fathers death she became the person to make sure they had enough to eat, at one point they almost starved to death. Out of shear desperation had Catniss decided to risk punishment to hunt for her family’s food. Here is where she met Gale, another child whose family relies on him to bring food to the table. Throughout the years as their friendship grew so did their hunting skills, until Catniss was an expert with a bow and arrow and Gale could trap just about anything. These skills are what kept their families alive.

Panem is now what used to be the United States has been sectioned off into 12 districts and the Capitol. At one time the Districts tried to rebel against the Capitol and as a “remembrance” each year each district must send 1 boy and 1 girl between the ages of 12 and 18 into the Hunger Games as a Tribute. 24 kids enter the arena and only one kid walks out. The “winner” of the Hunger Games gets to enjoy a life of leisure in their district. This year is the first year that Catniss sister is up for tribute…

This series will follow Catniss and crew through the times frame of about a year, each book is exciting and fresh. The first book actually reminded me a bit of “Lord of the Flies” that most of us had to read at some point during our schooling. You are snared within the first few pages of the Hunger Games, from then on your nose is stuck in that book barely coming up for air and any interruption is not welcome. I’m not usually one for Young Adult books, but these books fit easily as a good adult read, these kids grow up so fast to survive it is very easy to forget that their ages range from 12-18. I think a few times I wanted to yell but she’s only 16! Or she’s only 12! You grow so attached to each character. It’s a good thing all of the books are already out for your reading pleasure because once you start you will not be able to stop. If you are a Kindle owner I purchased the Trilogy for about $17.00 for all three books. That’s a smoking deal! And if you hurry you can have them finished by the time the movie releases in March even if you are a slow reader. (Which I CANNOT wait for!)

So I have done an “I love me Kindle and let me tell you why” and the ladies at Bodice Rippers Click here to view post at Bodice Rippers did a post of “eBooks vs. Paper books” which got me thinking… I know trouble, I shouldn’t be thinking. Lol. It is no secret that I am an advocate of the eBook, I originally started reading eBooks because I could read them on my computer at work and now there are several reasons why I stick with eBooks and I would like to take a moment to get on my eBook soapbox and maybe I’ll convince a few people to convert as well.

1. Uses very little Natural Resources: So I am not the most “Green” person ever, but I do try when I can. Here is a very simple way I can reduce my paper waste. When you think about the shear amount of natural resources that goes into each book produced, it really seems irresponsible to the planet to continue reading on paper. When I think of the number of trees that are chopped down, the amount of gas that is used to ship the books and whatever natural materials used to go into the actual printing of millions of books it makes my earth friendly heart hurt.For this reason alone I would consider switching to eBook format.

2. Portability: I have a Kindle 3G, a Kindle Fire, Kindle and Nook apps on my phone and Adobe Editions, so no matter where I am I can literally take my entire bookcase with me. Hundreds of books at my fingertips at all times.

3. Size/Storage: I live alone, and my place reflects that. I have maybe 750 square feet to work with, and that estimation is being generous. Before I switched to eBooks I had books EVERYWHERE, I could not look around without seeing at least one paperback laying around somewhere. I had clothes, movies, stuff and books competing for shelf and other storage space and the books usually lost. Now, I have hundreds of books taking up no more than 7 inches of space.Now I rarely see a book lying around in a random place because I have nowhere else to put it. The physical books that I do still have (I sold or donated a lot to the library) are tucked away on their shelves or hiding places.

4. Weight: My Kindles weigh less than a hardcover and about the same as a paperback. I can easily hold either one of my Kindles in one hand and click to change the pages. No more using two hands to hold and turn the pages of the book; which may not seem like a big deal but when it’s cold out that is one hand that gets to remain wrapped in the blanket to keep warm.Now some of you might protest and say that you like the feel of having the book open and using two hands, well there are covers for your eReaders that open like a book. Mine does and when I feel like having that open book feeling I’ve got that covered.

5. eInk:With eInk technology if you get an eReaders such as the first generation Kindles or Nooks that do not have the backlit screen they have the eInk technology and literally the background and print looks so much like what the page would look like in a book you can barely tell the difference.This technology will only get better and better.

6. Font Adjustment: With a printed book what font you see there is all you get. Do you have poor eye sight?Well too bad if you have problems reading what is on the page you have to get one of those clunky magnifiers or search for a large font book that they may or may not make for your books of choice.With a eReader, no problem just go into the settings and switch the size.Personally I switch of the font sizes fairly often, when I go to the gym the small font is just not going to cut it when I am on the treadmill. So I jack that font up so I can continue my reading while at the gym, because let’s face it, if I couldn’t read at the gym the likely hood that I would actually go drops significantly. So for me the ability to adjust font size at will is very nice.

7. Multiple Functions: This really comes into play with the Kindle Fire and Nook Color and Tablet. With most eReaders you can read a book highlight passages, bookmark and make notes as I go. There is no writing in margins, no ink soaking through the page or folding pages over. Every time I “dog eared” a page I always thought of Sean Conary in “Finding Forrester” where he plays an author.When he said something like “You dog eared it? Have some respect for the author?” LOL! When you are done with the book you can rate it right then and Tweet to all your bookish friends your rating right from your device. You can also download music onto your reader so you can listen to music and read from one device. When you start getting into the Fire, Color and Nook Tablet then you expand your capabilities to much much more.But if all you are going to read, the more inexpensive options of the eInk readers are the best ones for you.

8. Free Books: Amazon and Barnes and Nobles have a ton of free books in their library! You can always find something to read for free and if you like the classics almost all of them are free.With Amazon Prime you can even borrow one book a month from the Lender Library which has some great books in it such as the Hunger Games trilogy. Libraries support eBooks, so you can even continue to borrow from the library.

9. Durability: Do you re-read books? I know I do my favorites I read over and over. The result I have books that are literally falling apart. You know that feeling a lot of people love for cracking the spine, well that damages your book. It loosens your pages. So if you are like me each time you read that book you are loosening the pages more and more until at some point pages can start falling out. I’ve had entire sections fall out of the book, so then I have to go rebuy the book. An eBook, there are no pages falling out, the books do not get damaged and you can back them up on your computer or on a “cloud drive”.So in my eyes that is a Win-Win!

10. Organization: You can organize your bookshelves very easily you can organize them how you want them for example by author. Now I know you can do this with paper books, however it is so easy for those to get messed up and as your bookshelf expands you have to keep moving books around. With a Reader when you put them in your shelf they stay there unless you so decide otherwise.

Ok, those are my Pros for eBooks and readers, but it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows so here is my problem with eBooks and accompanying reader.

1. Loanablity:Physical books you can loan to friends pass them around, the more the merrier. With eBooks some of them you can “loan” some of them you can’t. It depends on the publisher. And if it is loanable you can only lend once, ever.Which I personally am against, I don’t actually loan a lot of books even when I was still reading paper books, I just don’t have that many reader friends, but if I did I would like to be able to loan them a book if I so desire. You know you rant and rave about a book that you loved, but your friend isn’t so sure. So as a good friend you say; here is my copy, give it a whirl, see if you like it. Then hopefully they love it as much as you do and the next book they buy for their own.I really think the publishers are missing it on this. I know they are trying to limit pirating but I really think that is narrow minded. How many times have you found a great author or series because a friend loaned you a book. My own person example was the Hunger Games, sure I had heard of it, sure I was curious, but I wasn’t ready to go out on the limb and buy it to try it. A friend had copies and lent me Hunger Games, guess what I was hooked and what did I do? I immediately went online and purchased the trilogy from Amazon, Win Win! I’m happy because I found out before I purchased if I liked the book, the publisher is happy because I bought their books.

2. Price: So there are TONS of free eBooks there are even TONS of discounted eBooks, so this is a positive and a negative. There are also a lot of eBooks that are at the same list price of the physical book. Now I know this is nitpicky of me and a lot of other people with the same gripe, but I figure if it costs less to produce then it should cost less to the buyer. Also it would give more people an incentive to go eBook.Now Hardcover prices sure, the eBook price is usually about $10.00 less than the actual hardcover price but I think the eBook should at the most be the usual paperback price, because there is no cover. Why am I paying on average $4.00+ dollars more for “hardcover” when there is no cover? It doesn’t make sense to me. I paid close to $20.00 for J.R. Ward’s Lover Unleashed in Hardcover as an eBook. Erg! I so was not happy about that one.

And that’s it, those are the only two things I had issues on with eBooks and eReaders. Hopefully you have looked this over and are considering the switch.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

**Note if you are someone that does not want to read anything but a warm fuzzy review and dont want your movie spoiled, please move on. You wont want to read this and it may even make you mad, but everyone is entitled to their opinion; good or bad.**

I had absolutely no intentions of going to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 in the theaters, I would have possibly Redboxed the movie for my $1.50 (or however much they are charging now) . After the disasterpieces that were the second and third movies I figured Breaking Dawn would follow in those footsteps and be a waste of my time and money.So I was surprised when several of my work friends had gone to see the movie and said “it was SOOOO good” and “it was WAY better then the last movie”. So when a friend begged me to go with her I was cautiously optimistic, that this flick would be better than the last. I should have known better…

This will contain hella spoilers if you haven’t read the books or haven't seen the movie yet. Ok, that’s not quite a fair statement, it was better than the last movie and here is why.There was significantly less talking in this movie, if they are not talking then they can’t be participating in horrible dialogue.

Which brings me to what sucked about this movie, a list:

BORING: There were so many awkward contemplative silences in this movie.I swear it took about 10 minutes for Bella to just get down the damn aisle. Seriously, it doesn’t take that long to walk down the aisle? Then there were all the cut always to the back of the dress for no reason. Wasting time. The honey moon was a montage of playing chess and hiking. Snooze fest! Really nothing of interest happened at all until almost the end when the wolves provided some entertainment, which had to be more than 45 minutes into the movie.There was more than one person sleeping during the movie when I looked around, because the audience was more interesting than most of the movie.

Wedding: Why did she have a constipated look on her face the whole time? My redo, she would have turned that corner and as soon as she saw Edward her fears and reservations disappeared and she would have at least smiled once.The dress, eh, boring. And her hair!!! OMG! It was terrible; it was quite possibly the worst wedding hair I have seen in a long time. It looked like she had just gotten out of a convertible or something. What a disaster. Although, even I have to admit at least the scenery was pretty.

The birthing scene: So, Edward leaves Bella cut open, bleeding to death, paralyzed and on the verge of heart failure for like 5 minutes (again a too long silence), while he sits there and looks at the baby takes his time wrapping the baby, smiling at the baby, showing Bella the baby, basically doing everything but saving her ass and is surprised when her heart finally gives out and it may be too late to save her.Jacob was standing right there he could have held the baby while Edward worked to save her when she was still alive and heart pumping. I’m just saying.

Vampire = Make Up? : So when Bella does finally change after looking at her dying emancipated body for much longer then actually necessary it turns out that turning into a vampire actually gives you falsie eyelashes and puts your make up on for you. You actually see a pretty metallic bronzish color apply to her eye, definitely made to look like eye shadow. My friend and I were like hey, if turning into a vampire means you’ll never have apply make up again, sign me up! And speaking of falsies why did Edward have on falsies?

Wolves Pow Wow: The voices they give the wolves during their very important pow wow where Jacob leaves the pack were comedic at best. I laughed pretty much through that whole part, cheesy is too good of a word for that part. Although, this section was pretty much the entire third movie, so I guess in perspective the 5 minutes that the wolves amused me was much less then the hour and 30 of movie 3. This was one of the more exciting parts of the movie, they could have spent more time here (as long as they didn’t cheese it up and switch up the voices) and spent less time on “contemplative silences” when nothing was happening. The wolves themselves looked great, the voices, all I can say is wow and laugh.

Jacob and Leah talk: So technically there wasn’t really anything wrong with this part, but it was too short.When Leah is basically bearing her soul and her pain in the book it is actually one of the best, most emotional scenes of the book and possibly in the series. It’s one of my favorites and one the few scenes that actually sticks out in memory of a book that I read years ago and have read hundreds of books since. So when they basically glossed over this part I was disappointed.

Acting in general: So my friends were saying that the acting was better in this movie then the previous two movies, if it was it was only marginally better. Kristen Stewart is still one dimensional; Taylor Lautner is still over dramatic, although, I think Robert Pattinson may have actually improved.Although, I still thought the acting in the first movie was the best of the four movies so far. I mean can actors really get worse with the more movies they do? I didn’t believe it, so to prove myself wrong I watched Twilight again last night since it had been several years since I had watched it last. During my re-watch I had to admit to myself that I was not wrong, the acting was better in the first movie, well Kristen Stewart was as one dimensional as always but she had some good moments in Twilight. Maybe these Twilight actors need to get back to the basics and not get so caught up.

Music: I cannot think of a single good song on this soundtrack, in fact all I can remember is really lame elevator type music.The soundtrack is usually one of the few good things about this movie series.

So this may not seem like a lot in the long run but when you are watching a movie and more than half of it about bores you to death and several of these are huge components of the movie, it makes it a lot bigger then what you would really think.

Ok Ok, so the movie wasn’t all bad, it did have a few things going for it:

Wolves: The computer graphics have improved. They are more lifelike. Surprisingly realistic. I know most dont like Leah, but I gotta say I like the girl, she is just trying to make due in really shitty circumstances. Seth! How adorable is Seth? Seriously, got to be my favorite wolf. The actor they picked, great job on that one. I just want to put him under my arm and take him home with me to be my little brother.

The Final Fight Scene: The final fight scene was pretty good, the wolves and vampires were putting the smack down on each other. It was all pretty dramatic. For a moment I even thought the wolves were going to take the vamps out. Gasp, but then we wouldnt have a Breaking Dawn Part Two.

The Toast scene: This was pretty funny when the guests were giving their toasts. Emmett’s was particularly amusing the look on Bella's dads face was spot on.This was one of the scenes that was intentionally funny and it actually worked!Go screen writers! You got something right. =)

I Didn’t Choose This: When Edward confronts Bella about her decision about keeping the baby. I was actually touched. RobPat (I think that’s his Hollywood nickname lol) pulled out some acting chops for this one. I maybe even teared up a little, ok, so i wasnt close to tearing up but if there was any part that would have brought a tear to my eye then this would have been it.

Sick Bella: So the CGI guys did a FANTASTIC job of making Bella look sick, I CANNOT hate on this one bit. Girl looks to be one foot in the grave. This is one of the best sick girl make overs I have ever seen. Seriously, I wanted to reach through the screen and feed the poor girl or put her out of her misery, which ever comes first. Man oh man, no expense spared on this.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The signs are everywhere...disastrous world events. Evil rising up, unleashed upon the innocent. The prophecies were there...but no one listened. Until now. The time has come for those who can either usher in Doomsday...or prevent it. They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Arik Wagner, a soldier with the U.S. Army's paranormal unit, the R-XR, kissed a girl and liked it. And then he went to hell as punishment. Where he's spent weeks being tortured...and plotting revenge.

Limos, Horsewoman of the Apocalypse, isn't your average girl. She's immortal, dangerous, and her fiancé is Satan himself. In a moment of weakness, she gave in to her desire and kissed Arik, triggering her fiancé's wrath - and his claim on her. In order to save Arik, and the world, Limos must make a dangerous pact with her recently turned evil brother, Pestilence. A deal that might just cost her her soul...and her heart. –description from Hachettebookgroup.com

Review:

When has Larissa Ione ever written anything but 5 star work? I'm just wondering everything she puts out I love, I laugh, I cry (mostly laugh), need a cold shower after some of her "scenes" .There is nothing to not love about this book! I didn't think I was going to love Arik this much. He was kind of a stick in the mud in previous books but in this one he shines! A flawed scarred up human who has battled his way through life, he manages to have a sense of humor and make the best of an impossible situation. After a forbidden kiss, Arik is taken into hell and tortured in unimaginable ways for a month, dreaming of revenge and lust for Limos is the only thing that managed to get him through with his mind mostly intact. Once he escapes/rescued the danger to Arik is not done, more than one evil being is determined to enslave him once more and only this time for eternity. Limos is a surprisingly vulnerable Horseman. She is one of the most powerful demons in existence but at the heart of it she is just a woman with a woman’s desires. She is a woman with more than her fair share of secrets some that threaten to destroy...everything. Limos as a character should be entirely unrelateable but Larrisa Ione takes someone unreachable and brings her down to a woman that anyone could fall in love with. Also in typical Ione fashion you are taken on a roller coaster ride of action scenes, smoldering erotic scenes, and full out laughs. I'm talking the kind of laughing that has your abs aching the next day and making you realize that it’s probably time to hit the gym. lol! There is so much going on in the book there is no way you will be bored you have plenty to keep you occupied and glued to the book, this is not a book you will easily put down and I foresee many readers picking this book up for many re-reads because once will not be enough!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I am getting super excited for the next installment of the Immortals After Dark series! It is my all time favorite series. I have been impatiently waiting for Lothaire to come out and we are getting closer to the release date! So here is a mini teaser I grabbed from kresleycole.com

Release date January 10, 2012

WATCH THE TEASER TRAILER!

LIKE KRESLEY COLE ON FACEBOOK, CLICK ON THE MEMBERS’ONLY TAB AND ENJOY!

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole continues her electrifying Immortals After Dark series with this thrilling tale, revealing secrets of the Lore, fierce realm of the immortals. . . .

ALL FEAR THE ENEMY OF OLD

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness—until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience.

A DEADLY FORCE DWELLS WITHIN HER

Growing up in desperate poverty, Ellie Peirce yearned for a better life, never imagining she’d be convicted of murder—or that an evil immortal would abduct her from death row. But Lothaire is no savior, as he himself plans to sacrifice Ellie in one month’s time. And yet the vampire seems to ache for her touch, showering her with wealth and sexual pleasure. In a bid to save her soul, Ellie surrenders her body to the wicked vampire, while vowing to protect her heart.

CENTURIES OF COLD INDIFFERENCE SHATTERED

Elizabeth tempts Lothaire beyond reason, as only his fated mate could. As the month draws to a close, he must choose between a millennia-old blood vendetta and his irresistible prisoner. Will Lothaire succumb to the miseries of his past . . . or risk everything for a future with her?

For the past 200 years Niniane has been known as Thistle Periwinkle. As Thistle she acted as the PR spokesperson for Cuelebre Enterprises. When she was just 17 Niniane’s family was slaughtered by her Uncle to take the throne from her family, barely escaping with her life she headed to NYC and to Dragos where he has hidden her and kept her safe from her uncle. Now that her uncle is dead (circumstances of his death are in book 1) Niniane has returned to Chicago take her place as the rightful Queen to the Dark Fae. Back into the fold of the Dark Fae Niniane has already had an attempt on her life. Her cousin thought that he could take her out, but thanks to the Wyr she calls family he was not successful, but he will no longer be trouble for her.Terrified for her life, Niniane takes off on her own.Back in NY Tiago is prowling, he hates the city and itching for a war any war to participate in. Maybe he’ll start a war just so he can fight. As one of the truly ancient Wyr’s he is more feral then most and can barely tolerate civilization.When he hears Niniane has gone missing, he immediately takes off for Chicago to find her. Tiago does not reflect on his behavior, unlike his fellow Wyr’s he barely knows Niniane and has only talked to her a handful of times over the past 200 years. When he finds her drunk and bleeding, he realizes he is in more trouble than he ever realized and then he realizes that Niniane is in more trouble then they realized as another attempt on her life is made.More determined than has ever been in his life, Tiago vows that no one is going to get to Niniane again. No one will be able to budge him from her side, not even Niniane herself.

Review:

Oh how I love Tiago! He is all alpha male, dark, intense, brooding, warrior, more in touch with his animal self then his human self.He knows what he wants and does not hesitate.His animal self is quite intriguing as well as one of the only Thunderbirds in existence.Lightening can shoot from his eyes and he can bring on a vicious storm from his temper. He is not a bird you want to mess with … EVER! He was once even revered as a God in ancient times. Niniane is Tiago’s total opposite, more comfortable in a spa then the outdoors. She is girly girl personified!She is a woman after my own heart, she likes her shopping, shoes, fashion magazines, but has a spine of steel, she is not someone you want to tangle with or you may lose your own life.(Just look at what happened with her cousin, he didn’t live to tangle with her again) After the deaths of her family she found a way to survive and find her way to Dragos demanding he take her in and protect her. I can respect a feisty, determined, girly girl. When Tiago and Niniane tangle sparks fly and sensuality reigns supreme.The chemistry coming off these two is off the charts. I love how protective Tiago is of Niniane and how well he adapts to her lifestyle. He is a man used to war not politics but he quickly adapts to this new life and becomes an asset to Niniane as they navigate the world of Elder Races politics. Thea Harrison, creates a fun, dangerous and intriguing world with this series. Its where Wyrs( including dragons, unicorns, griffons), fae, witches and elves rub elbows and everyone just tries to get along enough to not kill to may “people”. One of the most fun worlds I have read to date. I flew right through this book and enjoyed every moment of it. I highly recommend this series to paranormal lovers, you will not be disappointed. I’m just sorry it sat in my TBR Mountain for so long before I got to it.

My only dislike is the covers: The covers on this series really leave something to be desired. That may have been one of the reasons this series kept getting pushed back. Snobish I know, I can't help it. I instinctively am more drawn to a better cover or at least not a cheesy cover.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

So I've decided to do a giveaway! Its been a long time and I havent been the best of bloggers, so I have decided to make it up to you all by buying your love. The link to enter the giveaway is below. It is open to US and International. It is not required that you follow my blog to enter but it would be nice. So now for the prizes!

I am giving away two $15.00 gift cards to either amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles or up to $15.00 at the book depository for the international readers (as long as TBD ships to your country). If I can get to 350 followers I'll throw in another gift card to a third winner!

***Mandy from Lets get Romantical and Dawn S won the gift cards! Thank you everyone for participating! The winners have been emailed!***

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

*I dont usualy participate in Meme's mostly because I forget to, but I saw this weeks topic and had to participate. So here is my Mountain. I actually own all these series and they have been chilling for months and months some of them over a year and I have yet to have gotten to them. I apologize for neglecting you poor books!

My TBR Mountain:

The Top 10 by series:

(That’s how bad my mountain is, I can do this by series rather than book. This is no particular order)

Women of the Underworld Series – Kelley Armstrong

Mortal Instruments Series – Cassandra Clare

Immortally Sexy Series – Stephanie Rowe

Heroes of Olympus Series – Rick Riordan

Fever Series – Karen Marie Moning

Dark Hunter Series – Sherrilyn Kenyon

Naked Werewolf Series – Molly Harper

The Sutherland Brothers Series – Kresley Cole

Primal Instinct Series - Rhyannon Byrd

Play by Play Series – Jaci Burton

If you have a ﻿mountain like me there is a TBR 2012 Challenge floating around that you can particpate in. Click on the picture below to get details and participate.

Monday, November 14, 2011

How to Worship a Goddess: Lucy the Etruscan Goddess of the Moon and Brandon Stevenson

Summary:

Lucy is one of the forgotten Etruscan Goddesses, over the past millennium as times and worships change she has lost most of her power. If she hadn’t had her Luciani (werewolves) she truly would be forgotten. One of Lucy’s few pleasures left in life is hockey and one hockey player in particular. Each game Lucy sits in her seat and lusts for Brandon Stevenson, if only she could find a way to meet the intriguing hockey player. Each game Brandon notices the sexy woman that sits in the same seat, there is something about her that has him on edge. He doesn’t just want to meet her, he needs to with every fiber of his being. He is approaching stalker status and tracks the beautiful Lucy down to a bar that is not even on the map. Instantly these two go up into sensual flames, both have the night of their lives, until morning approaches and Lucy knows she has to wipe Brandon’s memory and send him home. Only the spell doesn’t take (because she didn’t want it too?) and Brandon comes back the next night.Lucy knows she should send him away, but she can’t. But danger surrounds Lucy and she fears he is now smack dab in the middle of immortal affairs as a “weak” human. Has her desire killed a good man?

Review:

So I have different standards for erotica verses a “regular” romance. For me the emphasis is definitely placed on different aspects when dealing with erotica. I would definitely place this book more into the erotica genre then the standard romance genre because the “scenes” are hot enough to steam up the pages. I’m not usually a huge fan of erotica I tend to like a little more story to my books, but the concept of goddess meets hockey player intrigued me. I have to say I’m a fan of hockey themed romances (Think Rachel Gibson Chinooks Series, it has some of my favorite books of all time), so when I saw this one on Netgalley I scooped it up, hoping for a good story. At first I was a little disappointed, the story was looking like it was going to be straight erotica with very little character involvement. After about 30-40% of the way through the book the story started getting more involved and we got to know our characters a little better. Brandon is a super sexy, very aggressive, dominate male. He doesn’t care that Lucy is a Goddess, when it comes to the bedroom he is all male and a man that will dominate with his fierce personality. He is a man that will love and protect with the same fierceness. Lucy is a goddess, she is used to being worshipped and never having her will questioned. With Brandon he doesn’t care that she is a goddess demands surrender from this proud woman, Lucy finds that with Brandon she can lose herself as she never has before. Times are changing, Lucy is changing and she finds that with Brandon maybe these changes aren’t so bad. I liked Lucy and Brandon and their journey together. This is a fast paced novel, with plenty to keep you turning pages. There are some small issues such as some repetitive moments and sentences throughout the book. We really don’t get to know our characters until later on in the novel and I prefer more of a build up, I at least to know my characters a little more before they are knocking boots non-stop. LOL. But overall, it was pretty good. I’d read the next one in the series; see where S. Julian is taking us.

Rating:

3.5

*This title was provided to me through NetGalley by the publisher for an honest review.

Eons after the Gods won their mythic struggle against the Titans, a new evil threatens the land. Mad with power, King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) has declared war against humanity. Amassing a bloodthirsty army of soldiers disfigured by his own hand, Hyperion has scorched Greece in search of the legendary Epirus Bow, a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the heavens by Ares. Only he who possesses this bow can unleash the Titans, who have been imprisoned deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros since the dawn of time and thirst for revenge. In the king's hands, the bow would rain destruction upon mankind and annihilate the Gods. But ancient law dictates the Gods must not intervene in man's conflict. They remain powerless to stop Hyperion...until a peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill) comes forth as their only hope. Secretly chosen by Zeus, Theseus must save his people from Hyperion and his hordes... Written by Anonymouson www.imbd.com

What I thought about it:

Going into this flick I kind of had the expectations of Conan the Barbarian, which it would probably suck like almost every other ancient/god themes movie.I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, there were a few groan worthy moments, but for the most part I was engrossed in the movie. Mickey Rourke as per his usual makes an exceedingly good “bad guy” he rocked the hell out of his part as King Hyperion.The guy who played Theseus, Henry Cavill, also did a great job with his part. I don’t recognize H. Cavill from any other movie that I can remember so I assume this may be his first leading role in a big budget blockbuster film. He did a better job than I thought he would and I am sure we will be seeing more of him in the future. In this flick the gods are portrayed more as the “good guys” which through me off a bit. I am used to seeing the Gods as fickle, vain, and uncaring. I’m still not sure if I believe/like this change in the Gods image, but hey I can role with it. This movie is extremely violent and the fight scenes I have to admit are pretty bad ass. Theseus and the Gods kick some serious arse. The graphics and explosions don’t overpower the movie as they can sometimes do, but definitely enhanced. The chemistry between the Oracle and Theseus feels forced so it’s a good thing you don’t have to suffer through it much. It’s more of an “oh by the way” we are attracted to each other rather than consuming the plot which can also tend to happen. Overall, there is a good balance between the main plot and any sub-plots. I really enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I would. I wouldn’t say it is as good as 300, but it’s in the same league in my opinion.

Rating:

Watch in the theater! Don’t wait for DVD you’ll lose a lot in the graphics. I don’t think 3D is necessary however.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Ever since Serah and Lucy opened that chest almost a year ago everything has changed for Serah. Demons are following her everywhere, she is making strange things happen and Kalli has had to clean up more than one mess for Serah, even her business is suffering which is why she applied for a spot on a cooking show. Lucy and Rafe decide that Serah needs protection and there is something she is not fessing up to. The Fore-Demons in their infinite wisdom send Serah, Matthias, a mercenary turned fledgling Paladin warrior. For almost 800 years Matthias has been straddling the fence between good and evil and at some point man must pick a side. That time came for Matthias just under a year ago when he kidnapped Serah, not know what she was (the one person who can save the world) to hand over to Team Evil, only to realize what he had done and tried to correct his mistake. Ever since then Serah has weighed on his mind and stared in his fantasies and he knows the Fore-Demons must be crazy to assign him to her protection. When the demon who slaughtered his family and turned his shows up Matthias knows it may come to his life for Serah’s… For Serah to survive she will have to conquer all of her old fears and accept who she really is.

Review:

I enjoyed the dynamic between Serah and Matthias, both have their emotional baggage but seem to be able to see beyond that. I would have long cancelled my subscription to all of Matthias’s issues, but Serah stuck in there and didn’t give up on him, despite his efforts to through her off. Their heat burned fast and intense. I understood Matthias falling hard and fast since he has a year to stew in his infatuation, but Serah was just a little too quick to be truly believable. We had visits from the first books enjoyable characters. Kalli was around quite a bit, cleaning up Serah’s messes. Gerardo got a huge promotion for which we are very happy for him. Lucy and Rafe were usually hanging around protecting Serah and really where there is Serah there is Lucy, and vice versa. You get introduced to Daniel, who is a cooking show host, I have to admit I had some troubles with Daniel; he really just rolled with the punches too well, it just was not believable. He was quick to believe what Serah and Matthias told him, even though he had believed the opposite for quite some time. Which, leads into; as with the previous book the plot wasn’t fully flushed out, there are missing pieces and a rushed plot line. I still don’t know what being a “Pure Blood” entails and why it’s so important to the world in general and what all powers Serah has. How is Serah supposed to “save the world”? Despite the plot not being flushed out to its potential I let the characters themselves entertain me. Overall, it was a pretty good book, I enjoyed the characters and will more than likely continue with the series I am curious enough to see where Sidney Ayers is taking us and I want a Kalli book, I’d have to say she is my favorite of the side characters.

Rating:

*This ARC was provided to me through Netgalley by the publisher for an honest review.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Stasi has always been the “nice” witch, always too kind hearted to ever hurt anyone’s feelings or cause any harm so it comes as a great shock that Carrie a client at her lingerie shop is suing her for “alienation of affection” because her fourth husband did not come back to her. It is much more likely that he didn’t come back because of Carries not so sparkling personality. The real worry for Stasi is Trevor Barnes, he is a premier wizard lawyer, and he rarely loses a case. Trevor is really regretting taking this case, the human Carrie is an absolute nutcase, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can deal with her. When her craziness gets even worse he knows it’s time to take a trip to meet Stasi to see if she will settle. The last thing he expected when he met the witch Stasi is little red hearts floating above her head, what is that all about anyway. When Stasi sees the little red hearts above the devil incarnate otherwise known as the wizard lawyer Trevor, she knows Cupid must be messing with her, there is NO way her mate could be a lawyer let alone a wizard lawyer, not possible. But when Trevor sticks around she realizes there may be more to him then she thought now if only he would make this law suit go away. Then when the entire town starts going crazy Stasi and crew realize that there may be more to this law suit then meets the eye.

Review:

Stasi and Blaire’s entire town has gone crazy. For several hundred years they have given the town their all and now they are acting and talking crazy. It’s like Salem all over again, Stasi should know, she was there and it still haunts her memories. I like Stasi; she definitely finds her backbone in this book. Most of her life her sister witches has protected her because of her gentle nature, but in this book she finds she can take care of herself and stand up to those out to do her harm. Trevor I could kind of take or leave, he was a great compliment to Stasi and supportive, but he really wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea. I guess he wasn’t broody enough for me. Lol Blaire was front and center along with Stasi in this book as roommates you see a lot of Blaire, which I was happy with, I like Blaire, she is a take what she wants sort of girl with a sassy attitude. There are plenty of laughs to be had with this book and an interesting twist in the end. I have to say overall, it was an enjoyable book that fits in great with this series.

Since Jazz and her 12 sisters were kicked out of the Witches Academy roughly 700 years ago she has become a free spirit, with an independent nature and devil may care attitude. Her life in LA certainly matches her attitude, as a driver for supernatural creatures and as a curse eliminator on the side she can basically set her schedule. She doesn’t have much more pressing in her life other then the occasional curse elimination. Life is good and uncomplicated until Nikolai Gregorivich shows up. Her former lover and full time detective and vampire, whenever, Nikolai shows up jail time for Jazz soon follows. This time there are vampires ending up missing all over LA, Nick needs Jazz’s help as their Prime Suspect is someone that Jazz supposedly killed 75 years ago. Now Jazz has to confront her worst nightmare, literally, Clive Reeves has been haunting her nightmares for 75 years since that fateful night that she plunged glass into his heart and “killed” him. Now she has to finish the job or die trying.

Review:

Now Jazz is a character after my own heart, super sarcastic, lives her own life by her own rules, and cares little what others think. When she goes in she goes all in, not much for half assing. As a lead character I highly enjoyed Jazz and her wit. There is great dialogue between her and the side characters. As with other L. Wisdom books you get hilarious “side kicks” with their own fully developed personalities. You have Fluff and Puff her man eating bunny slippers, Irma, the ghost her haunts Jazz’s T-bird and Krebs her human website developer roommate. All are equally funny and add rather than detract from the story. Now Nikolai, Jazz’s ex and current possible love interest is everything you expect from a dark brooding vampire, ultra sexy and all alpha male. The dynamic between Nikolai and Jazz is both familiar and tumultuous at the same time. They definitely have combustible chemistry. The plot line has enough twists and turns to keep you engaged and laughing. I really enjoy Linda Wisdoms sense of humor and I never fail to laugh in one of her books. If you like a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously will produce a good laugh and yet still provide some action you will not be disappointed with a Linda Wisdom novel.

Monday, November 7, 2011

All Pia’s half-breed life she has been taught keep your head down, keep a low profile and RUN! Why oh why did she not listen to her mother?!? She is having the worst week, she never should have told that rat bastard of an ex-boyfriend any of her secrets because now he is using them to blackmail her. She’ll be lucky if she survives the next 15 minutes, when “The Dragon” finds out she stole from him, he is going to come after her. NOBODY steals from him, NOBODY… The fact that someone had the audacity to steal to steal from is inconvincible, but there is something about the thief; something that nags at his memory. All he has is a hand written note, but that note is enough to have him curious about the woman who dared to steal from him.Pia is on the run for her life, she knows the most feared creature is after her and she will be caught. When Dragos catches up with his thief she is more than he expected, for the first time in centuries he is not bored. For that alone he may consider keeping her alive. But now there other threats trying to take his new possession from him and there is no way he is going to let anyone else steal anything else from him, including HIS thief.

Review:

So for a while now my bookish friends have been telling me to give this series a try, and for a while now it has been pushed down on my TBR pile, until again someone left me a comment on my favorite series list that I needed to read this series. So, finally I picked up the first book that has been lingering in my pile for months now. Now, I am upset with myself for not listening to my bookish friends all those months ago and picked up this book when they told me to. I really enjoyed this book, it had all the ingredients to keep me engaged. Super smoldering, brooding alpha male, check, a pretty kick arse female that overcomes difficult obstacles, check, lots of action in bed and out of it, and a great sense of humor, check, check.. Thea Harrison has created an interesting world where the immortal creatures of magic mix with mere humans and everyone tries to get along, “try” being the key world. However, one has more power than the rest (Dragos).Others want that power and are willing to do anything to get it, and don’t care who they have to trample (Pia) to get it. Once Pia and Dragos meet the chemistry is combustible. Dragos is certainly not used to anyone daring to fight with him and Pia figures she’s going to die anyway so she doesn’t have anything to lose by standing up to the formidable dragon so the arguing makes for some good times. I am really looking forward to continuing this series and I may even be rushing this review so I can start on the next book. Sorry about that, I’m impatient when it comes to my reading…

Sunday, November 6, 2011

I am afraid of giving anything away, so I am not going to write the summary this time.

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can’t tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city iself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven’t been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

Chicago’s mayor insists it’s nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She’ll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who’s behind this, and stop them before it’s too late for vampires and humans alike.

Review:

So after I was left in a cliff hanger from Hard Bitten I was eagerly awaiting this installment of the Chicagoland Vampires. I would have to say I was not disappointed with this book at all, there was plenty going on to keep me entertained for the duration. I’m sure the first and foremost on your mind is, Ethan. Is he brought back? Does he stay dead? And the answer is…. No way am I telling you that! You have to read to find that out, I’m not going to be the one to spoil it. Lol I can say that Ethan is very much felt in this book, Merit keeps Ethan’s presence throughout the book through her memories and deep sense of loss. She is definitely feeling the loss of her partner; however, we are not left without any man candy. For this book, we have the sexy Jonah; he is definitely making his flesh and blood presence felt. I personally like Jonah; he is sexy and funny and picks up where Ethan left off as a potential partner, lover and friend. In previous books I have always adored Mallory and Catcher, in this book both are stressed to the max with Mallory’s testing, so my quirky, funny Mallory isn’t the same. Catcher is still sexy in all of his glory. I definitely would not kick him out of bed. I was also missing out on Gabriel, I like the shifters but they were mostly missing in this book. We do however get some intriguing newbies in the Elves, Siren and Nymphs (well they aren’t new but are always entertaining). A lot goes on in this book to keep it moving along, Lake Michigan turns black along with the river; the sky looks as though it is on fire, mountains rise in the middle of the city and magick runs amuck… Regardless of what you want the outcome to be, you won’t be bored with this book.

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